McDonald's CEO Says Fast-Food Jobs Can Lead To 'Real Careers'

Hundreds of workers, organizers and supporters gather outside McDonald's Corp. on Thursday, in Oak Brook, Ill., calling for $15 an hour and the right to unionize.

M. Spencer Green
/ AP

Originally published on May 22, 2014 7:16 pm

As hundreds of protesters loudly demanded higher wages outside McDonald's headquarters in suburban Chicago, the company's CEO told an audience inside that the fast-food giant has a heritage of providing opportunities that lead to "real careers."

"We believe we pay fair and competitive wages," Donald Thompson said at the company's annual meeting on Thursday.

The annual meeting was held a day after more than 1,000 protesters, including many wearing McDonald's uniforms, "stormed through the company's campus entrance" in Oak Brook, Bloomberg writes. The Associated Press says 138 of them were arrested for refusing to leave the company's property.

The protests are part of a larger movement that got underway in 2012 with demonstrations in New York City demanding $15 an hour for fast-food workers.